Stones: Theory (Stones #4) (35 page)

“I’d say
no
, based on what I’ve seen so far. Our Stones seem to
want
to protect us.” Matt scans the crowd of kneeling and quivering
Chimpotee
. “These people have lived on this world with Jhata. I’m sure they’ve seen her do terrible things. No wonder they’re so scared. Any idea why they tried to kill you?”

“Tried?” Jessica laughs. “I’d say they did a pretty good job of it.” She shoulders the pulse rifle. “But no idea
why
they wanted to kill us. Maybe Yarah can find out.”

At the mention of her name, Yarah stands and walks closer to Matt and Jessica. The old woman follows her.

“What did you find out?” Matt says.

“You already know her name.” Yarah looks behind her at the old woman. “She says she met you after she died, and you brought her back.”

Matt nods. “Did you find out where the
Chimpotee
came from?”

Yarah stares down. “I saw memories of another world, lush and green. They were farmers and hunters, living in mud houses. Jhata came to their world many years ago. Ever since then, she’s come and taken whole villages back with her. They just disappear overnight, leaving huge brown pits in the ground where the villages once stood.” Yarah glances behind her back up at the light shining like a jewel on top of the cliff. “Ryzaard, this time.”

A point of blue light hangs in the darkness above the cathedral. It swells in size and comes closer in a long arc that ends in another earthquake and shower of sparks. They all go tumbling to the ground. A dimple appears on the surface of the green dome at the point of impact and remains for several seconds until it slowly fades from view.

“So Jhata has visited their world at random times, ripping away entire villages at will.” Matt exchanges a glance with Jessica. “Does that about sum it up?”

Yarah’s head slowly goes up and down. “She’s a monster, even worse than I thought. She brings the people here, keeps them like pets for a while, and then just wipes them out when she’s tired of playing with them and starts over.”

“Any idea where their home planet is?”

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out.” Yarah starts to jump up and down with excitement. “Saatuk asked if we could take their whole village back to their home. I told her we’d love to.”

“I wish it was that easy,” Matt says. “But remember. Jhata knows where their world is. She can jump there whenever she wants. If we just take their village back, what do you think she’ll do?”

Yarah kneels down on the ground. Her eyes suddenly grew large and she looks up. “She’s going to destroy their
whole
world, all the people, everything.”

“I think that’s a foregone conclusion,” Matt says. “We’ve stirred up the hornet’s nest. There’s really only one alternative.”

Jessica nods. “I’m afraid that’s right. You have to kill Jhata to protect these innocent people.”

“And billions more like them.” Matt looks down at the lone Stone in his hand. “There must be a way.”

“It’s impossible,” Yarah says. “She’s too strong. Too smart.”

“Perhaps,” Matt says. “She’s lived hundreds of lifetimes and learned a lot of tricks.” His gaze drifts up into the sky at a roiling cloud of multicolored particles. It slowly floats above them.

The
Chimpotee
begin to chant in desperation.

The old woman mumbles to Yarah.

She turns to Matt. “They’ve never seen anything like this. They’re pleading for you to take them away from this evil place.”

“I have a better idea.” Matt reaches for Jessica’s hand. “Come on, Yarah. Let’s go.”

“Where?” Yarah says.

He turns to Alexa, standing in the middle of the kneeling masses with the small pulse rifle resting in her hand. “Keep watch over them. We’ll be back.”

Alexa looks up at the cathedral on the plateau and nods. “Understood. Time to go on offense. Hit them where they least expect it.”

“T
rust?” Ryzaard drops his Stones back into the necklace on his chest. “What kind of trust?”

Jhata begins walking across the courtyard to the closed doors of the cathedral. “The only kind that matters.”

He walks to her side. “As a way to boost the power of the Stones?”

“Of course,” she says. “If I’m not mistaken, you tried something like it once before, with the man called Little John.”

“You’re talking about merging the Stones, one of us submitting to the other.”

“Yes,” Jhata says. “But to unlock the full potential of the Stones, it has to be voluntary, not forced like what you tried with Little John.”

Ryzaard’s right hand brushes across his thigh and feels the ripple of the muscles rising to the surface with each step. “Do you really think that will yield enough of an increase in power to kill the boy?

“It might.” Her thin figure moves ahead to the large wooden doors. She raises her palm and the doors swing open. “Of course, I have no direct experience. I’ve only heard that it’s been done before, by others, with spectacular results.”

“By who?” Ryzaard says.

Jhata laughs. “Can’t you guess?” She walks through the doors and admires the giant jade columns that glow in the dark from an internal light source. “The ones always pushing for unity and love.”

“The Allehonen?” Ryzaard follows her into the cathedral. At the same time, his hands come together with the index fingers pointing up, like a church steeple. “Of course. It makes sense. They get their power from bringing their Stones together.”

“Yes, becoming
One
, as they call it.” Jhata stops and turns to face Ryzaard. “Personally, I think it’s a terrible price to pay for power. Complete submission of the individual. A total loss of personal identity. What is the point of having power if not to be the only One that stands above all others? The self that controls all else.”

“Agreed,” Ryzaard says.

“Nevertheless, it
is
a peculiar characteristic of the Stones. The first one gives you enormous power. The second one gives you a three or four-fold increase in power and fills you with an insatiable appetite for more. So you start looking for more of them, because more is always better.” Her eyes drift up to his chest. Delicate porcelain fingers stretch out and brush across the seven Stones that float there. “But as you succeed in getting more and more, something happens. The increase in power from each additional Stone becomes less and less. I’m sure you’ve noticed this already.”

“Yes, it’s called diminishing returns.” Ryzaard touches her hand with his fingers. “You’re suggesting that one of us submit control of our Stones to the other for mutual profit. Just like the Allehonen?”

Jhata laughs and turns away. “Definitely
not
like the Allehonen. Our union will be temporary.” She comes to a stop in front of one of the columns. It casts a green tint on her face. “Only as long as it takes to kill the boy and his friends.”

“I see,” Ryzaard says. “And that’s where the trust comes in.” He walks a short distance to another column and runs his palm along its glass-smooth surface. “The one who submits to the other has to trust that the other will keep the arrangement temporary and give back the Stones.”

Jhata puts the palms of her hands behind her back against the pillar. “Yes. If, in fact, as legend suggests, a merging of the Stones results in a great boost in the power of the one in control, there will be great temptation to make the arrangement permanent. We have to
trust
each other that such a result would never happen.”

“And
who
are you suggesting be the one in control?”

The thin line of eyebrows rises on Jhata’s forehead. She inhales a lungful of the salty air and lets it out slowly. “The one who has the least to gain by keeping control.”

“You didn’t answer my question.”

“I believe I did.” She pushes off the jade column. Her soft slippers brush quietly against the floor as she makes her way to the door at the other end.

Ryzaard follows her onto the balcony overlooking the dark sea. “You think I should submit to you because you have the least to gain?” He glances down at a couple of chairs and a table furnished with drinks.

Jhata puts her hands on the rail and leans forward. “Isn’t it obvious.”

“No.”

“Then let me enlighten you.” Jhata turns her lithe figure and keeps her hands on the rail behind her back. “You came here half dead, and I saved you. I rebuilt you into what you are. I’ve designed the implants for you. I’ve got more Stones and more worlds than you. Much more to lose. That puts me in the senior position, an arrangement that you’ve already agreed to. You are my vassal. I don’t need the additional power of your Stones to move forward. I’m happy to stay as I am. For all those reasons, it makes no sense for me to be the one that submits to you.”

Ryzaard approaches the rail and looks down. “Yet your power will increase exponentially if I make the sacrifice. What assurance do I have that you will walk away from that and release my Stones?”

“It comes back to trust.” Jhata shrugs her shoulders. “But if you feel that’s too much to ask, I’ll happily back off. Matt and his friends will continue to be
your
problem on
your
world. You can let him consume your resources and stand in your way. The choice is yours.”

Waiting in the silence, Ryzaard stares down.

Jhata is right. He can keep on fighting Matt or submit to a one-time humiliation and let Jhata kill him, once and for all. She has more to gain in the future by releasing his Stones when the deed is done.

“Time is short,” Jhata says. “Let’s get this over with and move on.”

“Agreed,” Ryzaard says. “On one condition.”

Jhata takes a step forward. “There can be no conditions regarding the Stones. It has to be
unconditional
surrender. It will not work in any other way.”

“I’ll let you take over my Stones, but tell me how it’s done.” Ryzaard moves back from the railing and sits in a chair. “Just so there’s no surprises. I need to understand what you’re going to do.”

“Fair enough.” Jhata drops in a chair opposite Ryzaard, one leg crossing over the other. “This is how it works. You simply open your mind to me. Completely. You have to
want
to submit your will to mine. If you hold back or resist, I won’t be able to get down to the level required to take over your Stones.”

“And then what?”

“And then I’ll project myself into your mind. I’ve done it millions of times before. When my mind is inside yours, I perceive it as standing on an open plain.” She reaches out and takes a drink in her hands. “That’s the neutral part of your mind. Then, if you’ve submitted your will completely to mine, I’ll be able to drop down several levels until I enter a state where I can see through your eyes. At that point, our minds are one.” The glass comes up to her lips. “I simply reach out and take your seven Stones and use them as my own. There should be a massive boost in power.”

“What about me?” Ryzaard lifts a glass from the table. “What will I
feel
?”

Jhata takes a long drink, nearly draining it. “I’m not sure, since I’ve not allowed it to be done to me before.” She puts the glass down. “You may feel nothing. You may feel a loss of self. My guess is that it won’t be comfortable. But it will be short.
Trust
me.”

Ryzaard puts the drink to his lips and tastes the sweet nectar. He drains it in a few gulps and throws the glass over the railing.

“Let me think—”

Before Ryzaard can finish, the entire cathedral lights up behind them. They both turn to look and see it implode. The heavy jade columns liquefy, the stained-glass windows shatter and the stone walls and roof break into tiny fragments. In a few seconds, it all collapses into a pile of rubble.

Before they can say anything, the pile blows apart in a brilliant flash of yellow. Thin films of protective energy jump around them as the fragments blow by like a supernova.

Jhata and Ryzaard stare at the spot that was the middle of the cathedral floor.

Matt and Yarah stand there with glowing Stones in hand. Jessica points her pulse rifle at Jhata’s chest and pumps it.

A transparent golden bubble drops down around all three of them.